what your silence taught me

sorry to interrupt you...

Hello, my beloved Substackers. I am so grateful you are here. Here is a poem that fits the exact hole in my heart today. I hope it does the same thing for someone else out there.

Love, John

---

oh, my love,
I could see that you were
deep in thought

~ but I couldn't help myself
from interrupting you

I’m sorry for being rude - but

I had a question for you
that I was unable to shake

my curiosity had sprouted as a sapling
and then grew into a redwood with more
branches than I could ever count

I couldn't escape it

~ the question had tied
          itself to my tongue

~ I had to ask you

I drew a cautious breath
and approached the
altar of your amber eyes

"My love?" I asked

you looked up at me through
the billowing steam rising up
from your peppermint tea

spilling your smile open like an ark
that held a hundred million graces

My love," I repeated. "Why have you
been so quiet lately?"

your smile didn't fade,

~ if anything it widened

~ like you had been waiting
for me to finally have
the courage to ask my question

you reached across the
kitchen table

and laid your hand on mine
as if it were a picnic blanket

softly, you said to me: